People have been quietly building an unstoppable text messaging network across Urbana. It will work even if all the cell towers are down. There are no permits required, no need to get a ham radio license. It’s free to use by anyone who knows about it and has the right equipment. And everyone who joins makes the network even stronger.
This isn’t being done by a company, nor even an organized group. It’s being build independently, by individuals who don’t know each other (although we frequently find each other after we get a radio). It’s all powered by a free and open source project called Meshtastic.
This class will give you a crash course on the technology and have you put together your own node so you can jump in and try it out for yourself. No prior knowledge of Meshtastic is required. You do not need to already have Meshtastic hardware.
What is Meshtastic?
It’s a mesh network of little radios that let you text people (or a variety of other things that we’ll get into later).
What is this “mesh” you speak of?
When it comes to reliability, a mesh network is very different than centralized one. The phone network run by each carrier is largely centralized. So if there’s an AT&T outage, nobody with AT&T can make any calls, surf the web, or text anyone. The carrier is like the center dot in the left side of the following image. Take away that center dot, and nobody can talk to anyone else.
Contrast that with image on the right hand side, which represents a mesh network. You can remove any dot and people still remain connected. Even if you remove multiple dots, it doesn’t stop everyone from communicating.
Why is it cool?
The primary use case for mesh networks is when there’s an emergency which has taken out the main networks and people don’t have internet access, the ability to make or receive phone calls, text or anything else. For example, it has been used during relief efforts after hurricanes.
It has also been used at protests, when government agencies shut down cell networks in order to get people to disburse and not just reconvene elsewhere.
But perhaps the most compelling reason is because it’s a network that is not owned by corporations who want to sell your information and sell you products. It’s a network owned by the people. All the messages can be encrypted so only the intended recipients can see them. There’s no network operator watching you.
OK, tell me more about this workshop
We’ll be talking a little about the following:
- Talk a little about the various hardware that can be used
- Pick out some hardware and 3D print a case
- How good the coverage is in Urbana right now?
- Play with some hardware and see how it works for yourself
- Discuss some rain monitoring systems that use Meshtastic
- Share the philosophy of the people building these types of projects
- Plot and scheme more cool ways to use these things
The class will be much better if people ask questions and engage in a dialogue. Think about how this could fit in with existing things you do, or would like to do.
How much does it cost?
The workshop is free. If you like what we are doing and you are not already a member of the Makerspace, it’d be cool if you dropped some loot into the donation bin.
At this point you may be wondering: how can a Makerspace, which is run entirely on donations, be able to not only give a class for free, but also give away hardware? Two things:
- we have an amazing group of people who volunteer hours of their time every month to help their community build, fix, or create awesome art and technology projects
- the Urbana Arts & Culture Program provided a grant to cover the material costs
If you want to buy another radio, they cost anywhere from $20 to about $100 for a handheld device.
If you want to add on a solar panel, a big battery pack, and other extras, it will cost more. A top of the line rooftop node that will run forever on solar power is about $250. They can be cheaper if people get together and do a group buy to get discounts, save on shipping and the like.
When / Where?
The class will be from 13:00 to 15:00 on August 24, 2025 in the Makerspace Urbana, which is in the Independent Media Center (IMC). The address is 202 S Broadway St, and you may know it as the Downtown Urbana Post Office, as they’re another tenant of the IMC.
Wait, what’s the catch?
Ah, yes. There is a catch. We have a limited number of space available. You’ll have to go to our events page and register. If the class fills up, we will try to create a wait list. Anyone on the wait list is welcome to come to the event and learn, but they will not get their own Meshtastic node.
Update: The class did fill up, but a few extra seats were opened which will not include any hardware. These are for people who want to learn about the technology and will decide whether they want to buy their own hardware later.
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